Terror groups using niche encrypted platforms to evade surveillance: Officials
Security agencies have flagged what officials described as new communication tactics allegedly used by terror handlers to evade surveillance and contact recruits in Jammu and Kashmir. Authorities are monitoring obscure encrypted and anonymous platforms while strengthening cyber-surveillance efforts, officials said
Srinagar/New Delhi: After uncovering the alleged misuse of online gaming platforms by terror groups, security agencies have identified what officials described as a new operational tactic in which terrorists and their handlers use pornography websites and niche encrypted applications to communicate secretly.
The covert channels are allegedly being used by terror outfits and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, to convey instructions to recruits in Jammu and Kashmir while evading surveillance on conventional social media platforms, officials said on Sunday.
Officials said some of these platforms feature real-time chat tools, ostensibly designed to help users connect with people nearby, which handlers allegedly exploit to convey messages and coordinate activities.
Security agencies are examining a range of specialised digital tools. Officials said terror handlers were relying on Tor-based messaging applications to route data through encrypted networks and obscure user identities.
They are also monitoring privacy-focused messaging platforms that allow end-to-end encrypted communication without requiring a SIM card or phone number, making user attribution more difficult.
Agencies are further monitoring other anonymous and encrypted platforms that may bypass traditional registration requirements.
Though several such applications are banned in India, they are allegedly accessed using tools that can mask users’ locations and encrypt internet traffic, making online activity more difficult to trace.
Security experts said platforms using anonymity-focused networks can present unique tracking challenges by routing encrypted traffic through multiple relay nodes to obscure the origin and destination of data.
While such privacy networks are also maintained and used for legitimate privacy and anti-censorship purposes, their anonymity features can be exploited by clandestine networks, including terror groups, officials said.
Security agencies continue to adapt their cyber-surveillance frameworks to map and intercept such off-grid communication channels, the officials said.
Justifying restrictions on some applications, officials said terror groups were increasingly using encrypted messaging features on certain platforms for recruiting and radicalising youths in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a departure from conventional social media, handlers are allegedly reaching out to prospective recruits through platforms offering varying levels of anonymity and security in an attempt to evade detection.
While some applications offer basic encryption features, others provide stronger privacy tools, including end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages.
The trend has seen terrorists move away from commonly used social media applications, officials said.
Security officials observed that handlers and recruits from the Valley had allegedly been relying on applications that could function even on slower mobile networks. Some of these applications do not require a phone number or email address for registration.
The new tactics came to light as security forces continued efforts to combat the use of foreign-generated virtual SIM cards. Developed by overseas companies, virtual SIM cards can generate phone numbers for use through specific applications, leaving limited digital traces, officials said.
Their alleged use was first highlighted during the investigation into the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The NIA investigation found that more than 40 virtual SIM cards were used by the Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber and his accomplices, according to officials.
